School Notes

Books A Million (BAM) in McLean kicked off a newly formed partnership with Cooper Middle School by sponsoring a book sale at Cooper in September. BAM offered a 10-percent discount, and agreed to donate 10 percent of sales to the school library and English Department. This sale of books, calendars, games and other reading paraphernalia generated $9,750 in revenues.

The sale run by BAM staff and parent volunteers was open to students during the day and to parents during Back-to-School Nights, where they were also offered coffee, compliments of Kiaris Coffee Source in Sterling.

A life-size cardboard figure of Aragorn from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" used to decorate the sale area was donated to the Cooper library by BAM. He stands as reminder of a great start to a new partnership.

George C. Marshall High School will host the 40th Homecoming Celebration, "Past Times at Marshall High", in honor of its 40th anniversary. The event will take place on Friday, Oct. 11, from 4:30-7:30 p.m. A tailgate party from 4:30-6:30 p.m. will set the stage for an Open House in the school cafeteria, which will take place from 6-7 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., the Marshall Statesmen and the McLean Highlanders will compete in the Homecoming game. Alumni are invited to get involved by playing in the pep band during the game, singing in the choir, or attending the special recognition ceremony. The official date of the anniversary is Monday, Dec. 6, and Marshall High School will host a double-header boys and girls basketball game against Wakefield Warriors, in addition to an Open House and reception. For more information, call 703-714-5409 or visit www.fcps.edu/marshallhs.

Suzanne Fagan, 15, of Oakcrest School in McLean, and 15 other area high-school students were selected to participate in a one-semester interdisciplinary series of seminars called "Shakespeare, Texts, Contexts, and Performances" held at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. The participants will meet twice a week to examine Shakespearean plays from different perspectives to better understand their textual implications and stage histories. They also have the opportunity to see the plays and meet the director, cast members and the stage combat choreographer.

Maya Marcel-Keyes and Adele Loria, seniors at Oakcrest School in McLean, have been selected as semifinalists in the 48th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Maya and Adele are two of the more than 1.3 million juniors from more than 20,000 U.S. high schools who entered the 2003 National Merit Program by taking the 2001 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Their performance on the test landed Maya and Adele in an elite group of students who, according to a spokesman for the National Merit Scholarship Corp., represent less than 1 percent of U.S. high-school seniors. The semifinalists will contend for a finalist position in hopes of obtaining one of the 8,000 scholarships totaling $30 million to be awarded next spring.

Ryan Cooper, Jason Gardenier, William Harper and Alexander Orr of Langley High School; Colin Addis-Lieser, Harry Merritt, Joon-Hee Park, Stephan Paul, Elizabeth Traut and John Tsiaperas of Madison High School; Christine Elliott of Marshall High School; Meredith Haines, Brian Manley and Nicholas Sednew of McLean High School; and Cynthia Johnson and Erfan Parvez of Oakton High School were named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. The semifinalists will contend for finalist positions in hopes of obtaining one of the 8,000 scholarships totaling $30 million to be awarded next spring.

Northern Virginia Friends School at 2854 Hunter Mill Road in Oakton will host six open houses this fall at the new site on Hunter Mill Road just north of the intersection with Route 123 in Oakton. Families will have an opportunity to tour new classroom spaces, learn about the interior and exterior planning and the school's educational philosophy.

The evening open houses will be from 7-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23; Tuesday, Nov. 5; Thursday, Nov. 14; and Monday, Nov. 18. Weekend open houses from 4-5:30 p.m. will be held on Saturday, Nov. 2, and Sunday, Dec. 8.

Applications are available by calling 703-281-6837 or through the Web site, www.QuakerEd.com.

The Langley High School Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band have been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City as part of the Ensemble Spotlight Series. The bands will be in residence in New York City from April 24-28 and will each perform a 40-minute concert as part of Mid-America Productions' 2002-03 at Carnegie Hall. Andrew Gekoskie, director of bands at Langley, said the bands were selected based on audition tapes from the last five years.

Registration is ongoing for fall classes at the McLean Community Center (MCC). More than 50 classes for children are designed with learning in mind. Sports classes like Soccer and Kids Sports introduce children to the rules of the game, and parent-and-child classes allow parents to spend quality time with their children as they learn. Other classes include FunFit, a parent-and-child active-play class utilizing creative movement and games to develop motor skills, coordination and socialization. Little Scientist’s classes, for children 3-8, are aimed at introducing children to scientific concepts. Other classes include Chemistry of Color and Light and Super Sensations. For a full listing of children’s classes at MCC, call 703-790-0123 or visit www.mcleancenter.org.

The National Achievement Scholarship Program, conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corp., announced the names of approximately 1,500 semifinalists in its 39th annual academic competition for black American high-school students. The winners now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for over 775 Achievement Scholarship Awards that will be offered next spring. The local semifinalists are Candyce D. Phoenix of Potomac School in McLean and Sarah A. King and Kathleen L. Woody of Oakton High School in Vienna.

Lauren Elasik, 16-year old daughter of Colleen Boskin and Ron Elasik of McLean, was named merit finalist at the 2002 Miss Teen of Virginia Scholarship and Recognition Program, which was held Aug. 23-25 in Richmond. Seventy-two teen-age girls from across the state participated in the event, which culminated with the naming of the new state titleholder, Erica Jones of Ruckersville. In the Miss Teen of Virginia Program, each candidate is scored in six areas, including Scholastic Record and Achievement & Service to School and Community, for example. The winner will have the opportunity to compete for the national title of Miss Teen of America